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(10/20/04)
"Eternal life, the greatest gift that God can give and the life for which
we all should be striving, comes from knowing our Father in heaven and His Son,
Jesus Christ. As the Savior said: 'This is life eternal, that they might know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.' (John
17:3.) We cannot know God and Jesus without studying about them and then
doing their will. This course leads to additional revealed knowledge that, if
obeyed, will eventually lead us to further truths. When we follow this pattern,
we will receive further light and joy, eventually leading into God's presence
where we, with Him, will have a fullness." - Ezra Taft Benson, "Come
unto Christ," [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983], p. 32
(7/29/05)
"We are fortunate to have the gospel of Jesus Christ
and to understand what it can mean to us as we prepare ourselves here to live
forever in the presence of God. The world does not understand the meaning of
eternal life; we have the opportunity and responsibility, therefore, to teach
all nations this glorious principle." - N. Eldon Tanner, "The
Power of Example," Ensign, Dec. 1981, 2
(8/11/05)
"Children teach us how to find joy even under the most
challenging circumstances. Children haven't yet learned to be depressed by
concentrating on the things they don’t have. They find joy in what is available
to them. I remember a small boy playing along a riverbank. He had tied a piece
of fishing line to the ends of two discarded soft-drink cans. He threw one can
over a limb, then filled it with water. He would pull on the other can, then let
it go. The weight of the first can would draw the second one up as it fell. He
laughed and danced with glee.
"Simple, rejuvenating experiences surround us. They can be safety valves to keep
the tension down and the spirit up. Don't concentrate on what you don’t have or
have lost. The Lord promised the obedient to share all that He possesses with
them. You may temporarily lack here, but in the next life, if you prove yourself
worthy by living valiantly, a fulness will be your blessing." - Richard G.
Scott, "Finding
Joy in Life," Ensign, May 1996, 25
(10/8/05)
"The gospel is God's plan for the exalting of man to an
eternal creative opportunity with his Father through giving him a vision of his
great origins and heritage, his purposes and responsibilities, and his inspiring
potential.
"The Church is the institutional embodiment of the gospel, the organization
through which one may experience and express the great principles of God's plan.
"The priesthood is the power by which God and his sons move in spiritual
leadership. And all of these-gospel, Church, priesthood-are designed to bless
man and bring about God's purposes for him.
"The earth itself was prepared for man. "Behold, the Lord hath created the earth
that it should be inhabited and he hath created his children that they should
possess it." (1 Ne. 17:36.)
"The individual, then, is the focal point of all the programs and performance of
the Church-not the program itself, not the statistics. Not institutional
expansion but individual exaltation is the purpose of it all." - Marion D.
Hanks, "Conference Report," April 1966, Afternoon Meeting, p.149-150
4/7/06
"Christ stated: 'I am the resurrection, and the life: he
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.' (John
11:25.) The greatest tragedy that can happen to a person is not the loss of
his possessions, or his intellect, or his mortal life, but rather to lose
eternal life, which is the free gift of God." - Carlos H. Amado, "Overcoming
Adversity," Ensign (CR), November 1989, p.29
4/23/06
"We do not confer a favor upon the Almighty by obeying his laws, by receiving
his blessings; though we please him, no doubt, by so doing. And when we stand
before him at the last day, having 'come up through great tribulation' and made
our calling and election sure, I think I can hear Him say: 'Well done, good and
faithful servant, or good and faithful handmaid-enter into the joy of thy Lord.'
But I cannot by any stretch of imagination, conceive Him as saying: 'Thank you,
my child, for coming to Heaven!'" - Orson F. Whitney, Conference Report, April
1931, Second Day—Morning Meeting, p.65
6/12/06
"In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio,
December 27, 1832, the Master counseled, 'Organize yourselves; prepare every
needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of
fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of
order, a house of God.' (D&C
88:119.)
"Where could any of us locate a more suitable blueprint whereby he or she could
wisely and properly build a house to personally occupy throughout eternity?
"In a very real sense, we are builders of eternal houses. We are apprentices to
the trade—not skilled craftsmen. We need divine help if we are to build
successfully. The words of instruction provided by the Apostle Paul give the
assurance we need: 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' (1
Cor. 3:16.)
"When we remember that each of us is literally a spirit son or daughter of God,
we will not find it difficult to approach our Heavenly Father in prayer. He
appreciates the value of this raw material which we call life. 'Remember the
worth of souls is great in the sight of God.' (D&C
18:10.) His pronouncement finds lodgment in our souls and inspires purpose
in our lives." - Thomas S. Monson, "Your
Eternal Home," Ensign (CR), May 2000, p.52
5/28/07
"The Savior said, 'This is life eternal,
that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent.' And truly the Savior spoke the truth when he made this wonderful
statement. It is life eternal to understand the plan of salvation and to order
our lives so that we are in accord with its teachings. It is life eternal to
find such joy in our lives here, by righteous living, that when the end shall
come, we will pass away in peace, not fearing death, but knowing that we have
fought a good fight here, and that for having fought this good fight, the reward
that awaits us will truly be ours." - Winslow Farr Smith, "Conference Report,"
October 1920, Second Overflow Meeting, p.115
1/27/08
"Brothers
and sisters, this kingdom is like no other organization on earth. To borrow a
business term, it has a vastly superior competitive edge; it alone will lead us
to eternal life. It alone is founded on solid rock, the rock of revelation. It
alone has the fully restored gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the personal
level, it instills a purging discipline within us. It pushes us out of our
circles of comfort into growth. It fosters development of great spiritual gifts
and enlightenment which we will take with us in the next life. It provides the
baptism of fire. It personally empowers us in ways that can only come from God."
- Dale E. Miller, "The
Kingdom's Perfecting Pathway," Ensign (CR), May 1998, p.29
2/1/08
"Just as this life
depends upon the previous life, so this life is most important for the
future, for life hereafter depends upon our life here in mortality. Jesus
has shown us the actuality of the resurrection. We have overwhelming
testimony of eternal life. It is not some mysterious nirvana, but an eternal
life in the flesh that we will receive as individual beings. Life,
therefore, follows death as dawn follows darkness, breaking forth into the
light of a perfect day. What kind of life will this be for you?" - Theodore
M. Burton, "Conference Report," October 1966, Afternoon Meeting, p.34
4/26/08
"In
many cookbooks there are pictures of the perfect dishes that recipes make—the
fulness of the joy of cooking. These pictures are important because they help us
envision the outcome if we strictly follow the directions as given in the
recipe. It is important to begin with the end in mind, but the end represented
by pictures in cookbooks is an end that is only possible if everything is done
right. If directions are not followed or an ingredient is left out or
miscalculated, the desired taste and appearance are seldom attained. The picture
of a perfect dish, however, can serve as motivation to try again to create
something that is both delicious and beautiful.
"When we think of eternal life, what is the picture that comes to mind? I believe that if we could create in our minds a clear and true picture of eternal life, we would start behaving differently. We would not need to be prodded to do the many things involved with enduring to the end, like doing our home teaching or visiting teaching, attending our meetings, going to the temple, living moral lives, saying our prayers, or reading the scriptures. We would want to do all these things and more because we realize they will prepare us to go somewhere we yearn to go." - L. Tom Perry, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ," General Conference, April 2008
9/2/08
"To
become a winner in the race for eternal life requires effort—constant work,
striving, and enduring well with God’s help. But the key is that we must take it
just one step at a time." - Marvin J. Ashton, “If Thou Endure It Well”, Ensign
(CR), November 1984, p.20
10/5/08
"The path to eternal life is not on a
plateau. Rather, it is an incline, ever onward and upward. Hence,
ever-increasing spiritual understanding and energy are required to reach our
destination. Because the pernicious opposition by Satan continues, the
continuous enlightened guidance of the Holy Ghost is absolutely essential. We
dare not hinder, disregard, or quench the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Yet
when it comes to drawing upon the promptings and the blessings which flow from
the Holy Ghost, we often 'live far
beneath our privileges.' (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A.
Widtsoe (1954), 32)" — Keith K. Hilbig, "Quench Not the Spirit Which Quickens
the Inner Man," Ensign, November 2007
1/1/09
"It is
a wonderful thing, this gospel of our Lord. It is not to be absorbed
by merely sitting idly by and wondering how we are going to be
saved. All of us have an idea of some kind, of salvation. Rarely do
you meet a man who does not have some belief in immortality; but
when you propound to him the question, 'What
is the immortality in which you believe? What
is the salvation for which you hope?'
in most instances you will find that he cannot give you an
intelligent answer. To the Latter-day Saint, however, who is living
his religion, and who is progressing in a knowledge of his religion,
through prayer, faith, and diligent study, there is a pointed,
plain, beautiful conception of immortality and eternal life, that
gives his life something new, gives him hope, gives him courage, and
gives him an understanding that his life here on earth is more than
merely gaining the things of this life."
— Winslow Farr Smith, "Conference
Report," October 1920,
Second Overflow Meeting, p.115
1/29/09
"The days are dark; we suffer
temptation, we suffer hardships of various kinds, but there is one thing that
depression and war cannot take from us. I refer to the gift of eternal life. We
should put more trust in the spiritual values of existence. The things which are
seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. Wars may rage,
famine may come, earthquakes and the like, and depressions, but these things
cannot take away the eternal riches of Jesus Christ. Some of these riches are
the glorious atonement, salvation for the dead, the second coming of the Son of
God, the glorious resurrection and the eternity of the marriage covenant by
which we are united in marriage on earth and in heaven by the power of the holy
Priesthood. Thieves and misfortune cannot take these things from us, for they
are immortal, God-given, and shall survive death and destruction."
- Charles A. Callis, "Conference Report," October 1940, Afternoon Meeting,
p.119
2/10/09
"We need a present, everyday religion.
My religion must be with me from one Monday morning to the next, the year around
or it will not answer me. I am decidedly in favor of a practical religion, of
everyday useful life, and if I today attend to what devolves upon me to do, then
do that which presents itself tomorrow, and so on, when eternity comes I will be
prepared to enter on the things of eternity, but I would not be prepared for
that sphere of action unless I could manage the things that are now within my
reach. We must all learn to do this. There is no life more precious than the
present life which we enjoy. There is no life that is worth any more to us than
this life is. It may be said that an eternal life is worth more. We are in
eternity, and all that we have to do is to take the road that leads into the
eternal lives."
- John A. Widtsoe, "Conference Report," April 1947, Second Day—Morning
Meeting, p.75
6/1/09
“Jesus, the Bridge Builder, spanned that vast chasm we call death. "For as in
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:22. ) He did
for us what we could not do for ourselves; hence, mankind can cross the bridges
He built—into life eternal.” - Thomas S. Monson, “The
Bridge Builder,” Ensign (CR), November 2003, p. 67
1/31/10
“As
members of the Church, if we chart a course leading to eternal life… and are
going in the right direction; if we chart a course of sanctifying our souls, and
degree by degree are going in that direction… and, step by step and phase by
phase, are perfecting our souls by overcoming the world, then it is absolutely
guaranteed—there is no question whatever about it—we shall gain eternal life …
If we chart a course and follow it to the best of our ability in this life, then
when we go out of this life we'll continue in exactly that same course.… We will
have passed successfully the tests of this mortal probation and in due course
we'll get the fulness of our Father’s kingdom—and that means eternal life in his
everlasting presence.” - Bruce R. McConkie, “Sermons
and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie,” p. 54
4/24/10
"And when we tear ourselves free from the entanglements of the world,
are we promised a religion of repose or an Eden of ease? No! We are
promised tears and trials and toil! But we are also promised final
triumph, the mere contemplation of which tingles one's soul." - Neal A. Maxwell, "Why Not Now?," Ensign (CR), November 1974, p. 12
5/20/10
"As we are, God once was; as God is, we can become. True
greatness can only be achieved by meekness; such meekness as was
exhibited by Jesus Christ. Why should man be vain? In and of himself
he is feeble. Suppose that man becomes versed on all earthly subjects
and does not know what the humblest member of our mutual improvement
associations can know, namely, that Jesus Christ lives; he has fallen
far short of the object of his existence. To know that when death
comes it is not a leap into the dark, but an opening into true life, is
worthy an effort to obtain." - "Collected Discourses," 5 vols., Volume 2, Moses Thatcher, 31 May 1891
6/9/10
"Some day, brethren and sisters, we will all have another home to
go to. We are building it as we live our lives on the earth. I trust
that we won't be disappointed in the place that we have chosen for it.
If it is to bring us the maximum of happiness and security, and be
numbered among the mansions of the Lord, we must build it on a
foundation of faith, good works, and obedience to the commandments of
the Lord. May we be like unto the wise man who built his house on the
rock, and when the rains came and the winds blew, it fell not, because
it was rounded upon a rock." - John H. Taylor, "Conference Report," October 1945, Afternoon Meeting, p. 85
6/18/10
"Thomas Carlyle once remarked, 'Know your destiny and follow it.'
We are here today because we believe that our destiny in life is to
gain eternal exaltation. This is the highest goal in life, and it
demands all of our strength, devotion, and work. It is impossible to
achieve our highest potential destiny without direction and guidance.
The Lord gives us spiritual 'road signs' which we should follow." - Hans B. Ringger, "What Shall We Do?," Ensign (CR), May 1994, p. 86
6/30/10
"We know why we are here. When we are on the path, we can feel it.
The fruits of eternal progress are manifest in joy, peace, love, hope,
increased confidence in the Lord. Though the path is narrow, it is
sure. It is on this path that we testify daily of our love for the
Lord, His children, His church, His counsel, and the richness of His
blessings. By our good works we magnify what is mighty in us all, one
step at a time, one day at a time, all the time." - Elaine L. Jack, "Walk with Me," Ensign (CR), May 1994, p. 15
7/27/10
"I pray that you and I might wear ourselves out in the service of
the Lord so that at the end of our useful, productive lives we can
exult with Paul: 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a
crown of righteousness.' (2 Tim. 4:7-8.)" - Robert L. Backman, "The Golden Years," Ensign (CR), November 1992, p. 13
7/11/11
"I bear my witness that God lives, that the gospel of Jesus Christ
is true, that a prophet of God leads this Church today, that life is
eternal. I believe that man was 'overbuilt' for this world. Have you
ever seen a man who was totally satisfied with what he has here? There
seems to be a yearning, a longing, a reaching up for something not had
here. I think a wise man of old described it best when he said, 'Surely
God has planted the seeds of eternity into the souls of men.'" - Devere Harris, "Spiritual Power," Ensign (CR), November 1984, p.26